Perfect Genoise

A couple of days ago I talked about ordering Daisy Flour.

It arrived!  And the timing could not have been more perfect; I was charged with bringing a dessert to The In-Law's for the Labor Day Dinner.

I immediately pulled out Baking with Julia.  It's definitely one of my more-favorite cook books and has lots and lots of really excellent recipes - some complex and others not-so.  I vacillated  between several, but finally decided on a variation of the French Strawberry Cake.  I had raspberries.  I decided to use the "Perfect Genoise" and make a raspberry cream.  And maybe a little chocolate.

A genoise can be intimidating, at first, but this particular recipe really takes a lot of the angst out of it.  A true genoise is an Italian sponge cake named after Genoa.  It is also the foundation of many French cakes and desserts.  It uses whole eggs - perfectly whipped - as leavening.  No baking powder, baking, soda, or other leavening agents.

I thought it perfect for using the Daisy Pastry Flour.  And, of course, it was!

The basic for a genoise is whipping whole eggs until they're tripled in volume, gently folding in flour, and then gently adding melted butter.  It's not difficult - if you pay attention.

Perfect Genoise

Baking With Julia

makes enough batter for one 8-inch round cake

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sifted cake flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Pour the melted butter into a 1-quart bowl; reserve. Return the sifted flour to the sifter or sieve and add 1 tbsp of the sugar and the salt; sift onto a piece of waxed paper and set aside.

Put the eggs and the remaining sugar into the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer (or work with a hand-held mixer). Holding the whisk attachment from the mixer in your hand, beat the mixture to blend the ingredients. With the bowl and whisk attachment in place, whip the mixture on medium speed until it is airy, pale, and tripled in volume, like softly whipped cream, 4 to 5 minutes. You'll know that the eggs are properly whipped when you lift the whisk and the mixture falls back into the bowl in a ribbon that rests on the surface for about 10 seconds. If the ribbon immediately sinks into the mixture, continue whipping for a few more minutes. Pour in the vanilla extract during the last moments of whipping.

Detach the bowl from the mixer. Sprinkle about one third of the sifted flour mixture over the batter. Fold in the flour with a rubber spatula, stopping as soon as the flour is incorporated. Fold in the rest of the flour in 2 more additions.

Gently spoon about 1 cup of the batter into the bowl with the melted butter and fold the butter in with the rubber spatula. Fold this mixture into the batter in the mixer bowl. (This is the point at which the batter is at its most fragile, so fold gingerly.) The batter should be poured into a prepared pan and baked immediately.

Bake at 350° about 25-27 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched and just begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool in pan about 10 minutes then remove, cooling right-side up on cooling rack.

May be prepared 24 hours in advance.  leave on rack, uncovered, at room temperature.

Whip eggs until they're triple in volume and 'ribbon' back into the bowl when the beaters are lifted

Mix a cup of batter into the melted butter to lighten it - and then fold it into the main bowl.

Baked for 27 minutes and cooled overnight.  The cake came out perfect.  It sliced perfectly.  It just could not have been better.

I made a whipped raspberry cream by adding thawed, frozen raspberries to 2 cups of heavy cream along with a teaspoon of vanilla.  I did not add any sugar.

I split the cake into three layers and dusted the bottom layer with unsweetened cocoa.

I could have used more, but I wasn't sure how it would come out.  I actually thought of making a cocoa simple syrup but decided this would work.

I spread the layer with the raspberry cream and then added more thawed raspberries.

I then repeated wuith the next layer.

I topped the third layer with more raspberry cream and then piped rosettes along the outside edge.  I added chocolate curls by using a potato peeler on a chocolate bar and added fresh raspberries for the final garnish.

Neither Daisy nor Julia disappointed!  This cake came out great!  It was light and airy without having an 'eggy' flavor that some sponge cakes can have.  A genoise is a slightly dry cake by nature and the cream offset that dryness perfectly.

So...  my first dessert with the Daisy Flour was a resounding success.  There's a recipe in the book for a white bread that I haven't made in a few years.  I think that may be my next project!

This is going to be a fun Fall and Winter!

by Tim Dineen

Peach Blondies

Just about the only good thing that came out of yesterday was the Peach Blondies!

I really like blondies, but - as with so many things - I forget about them or seldom make them.

I was determined that at least one thing would go right - and I succeeded!  they really did come out good!

The recipe is straight from the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book, circa 1981.  It's my quick go-to  book for easy baked things. The recipe calls for 1 cup chopped walnuts.  I used 2 chopped peaches, instead.

Peach Blondies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 chopped peaches

Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.  Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt.  Melt butter; remove from heat.  Stir in sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla; stir until combined.  Stir dry ingredients into sugar mixture.  Add peaches and stir to combine.  Bake in a 350° oven about 25 minutes.

Another great way to use up some peaches.

These are great.  They're rich and butterscotchy with yummy peaches throughout.

I'm off to get more right now...

by Tim Dineen

Peach Pie

Sometimes I can drive myself crazy.

If I could just relent and buy a pie crust, I could have a pie in the oven in minutes.

But no-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o...... I have to make them from scratch because what would the neighbors think?!?

Or something.

Okay, that's not the real reason.  Reality is, making a pie crust from scratch takes less time than thawing one.  Messier, but quicker.

And infinitely better.

I have friends - even very accomplished cooks - who are intimidated by pie crusts.  There's no reason to be.  Even a tough homemade crust is better than a store-bought. And the food processor has made crust-making fool-proof.

I think part of the reason is advertisers really harp upon the perfection of their products versus a homemade product.  They set up the intimidation by telling you right off the bat you can't make something as good as what they are selling you and then proceed to mock your efforts and telling you your family/friends/loved ones/whomever deserve the best and you can't deliver it on your own.

Balderdash, says I!

I caught a few minutes of Ina Garten on TV today.  She was making a tiered chocolate cake with a butter cream icing.    She was decorating it with pastry tubes and said "You don't want it to look like it just came from a  bakery.  What fun would that be?"

I thought those were some of the best words a person could ever say.  Really.  A little less emphasis on perfection and a little bit more on having fun can bring the confidence level way up!

I think one of the reasons I make a good pie crust is that I'm not afraid to make a bad one.  That's not to say that I can't get neurotic at times and do things like forget to put the potatoes in the clam chowder that I'm serving to dear friends who have never stayed with us before...  But they are few and far between.

My motto really is "The worst thing that can happen is we throw it out and call for pizza."

And in all these years I haven't called for pizza - yet.  (That's not to say there haven't been a few meals that won't be repeated any time soon.)

The pie crust recipe I use started off as Julia Child's Food Processor Pie Dough and then just kept getting changed and tweaked over the years.  This really is fool-proof.  It makes enough for a generous 10" deep double crust.

Try it with 2/3 butter and 1/3 lard (not shortening) if you have it available.

Perfect Pie Crust

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup pastry/cake flour
• 2 sticks butter, frozen
• pinch salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup ice water

Using a food processor, add flours, salt, and sugar. Pulse to mix.

Chop up frozen butter and add. Pulse until butter is incorporated and mixture looks grainy.

Slowly add ice water and pulse until mixed.

Turn out onto counter. Press and form mixture into two disks . Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about an hour to allow the flour to properly absorb the water and to relax the gluten.

Roll out crust and place in pie plate. Crimp edges and fill.

I have never been a good "edge-crimper."  It's amazing for the amount of pies I've made in my life that it's a skill-set I've never really mastered.  I've watched in awe as others have whipped around a pie in seconds flat.  I'm just not one of them.

I still sleep well at night.

The peach filling for tonight's pie comes via Bon Appetit magazine.  I've made this one before.  It's really good.

Here's the recipe from Bon Appetit.  I don't do the vanilla bean with the sugar and all that.  I add a teaspoon of vanilla to the peaches.  I also brush the crust with an egg wash.

Peach Pie with Cardamom

• 2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (scant) ground cardamom
• 3 3/4 pounds firm but ripe unpeeled peaches, halved, pitted, each half cut into 4 slices (about 10 cups)
• 2 Best-Ever Pie Crust dough disks
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• Whipping cream (for glaze)

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean in processor; blend until vanilla bean is very finely minced. Sift vanilla sugar through strainer into large bowl; discard any large bits in strainer. Mix flour and cardamom into vanilla sugar. Add peaches to flour-sugar mixture and toss gently to coat.

Roll out 1 pie crust disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Spoon peach mixture into crust; dot with butter. Roll out second pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Drape dough over peach filling; trim overhang to 1 1/2 inches. Fold top and bottom edges under, pressing together to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Using small sharp knife, cut 2-inch-long X in center of top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust lightly with whipping cream; sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden, peaches are tender, and juices bubble thickly through cut in top crust, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool until lukewarm, about 2 hours.

I let it rest about an hour.  I was in a hurry.

It was really good.

Really good.

It's prime peach season.  Get yourself 4 pounds and get to work.

You won't be sorry!

by Tim Dineen